The autopsy of Thomas Matthew Crooks, performed on July 14, 2024, by Allegheny County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, found that the 20-year-old gunman died from a single high-velocity gunshot wound to the head, with the entrance wound at the left upper lip. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. Crooks was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. on July 13, 2024, minutes after he opened fire at the Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.1USA Today. Trump Shooter Autopsy: Crooks Killed by Single Gunshot Wound2Washington Times. Who Shot Thomas Matthew Crooks
What the Autopsy Found
The shooting occurred in Butler County, but Butler County Coroner William F. Young III sent the body to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office because that facility had the forensic resources needed for a case of this scale. Young told reporters the Allegheny office had “everything right there at their fingertips.”3Butler Eagle. Butler County Coroner Evaluates Shooting Victim, Shooter
Young’s office later issued a one-page summary listing the cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the head and the manner as homicide.1USA Today. Trump Shooter Autopsy: Crooks Killed by Single Gunshot Wound Dr. Goldschmidt’s more detailed findings, later presented in congressional testimony, described the injury as a “high-velocity gunshot wound to the head with an entrance wound of the left upper lip.” The examination recovered one bullet fragment and documented a single related wound. Goldschmidt was unequivocal that only one round struck Crooks’ body.2Washington Times. Who Shot Thomas Matthew Crooks
Toxicology Results
A toxicology report dated July 22, 2024, accompanied the autopsy. The Allegheny County forensic laboratory and NMS Labs screened Crooks’ blood and other specimens for alcohol and a broad panel of drugs, including opiates, fentanyl, benzodiazepines, cocaine metabolites, amphetamines, methamphetamine, and barbiturates. Everything tested came back negative. The lab concluded that the submitted specimens “did not reveal any positive findings of toxicological significance.”4Judicial Watch. Thomas Crooks Autopsy Report
The report did flag a mildly elevated blood lead level of 5.9 µg/dL, slightly above the CDC reference level of less than 5 µg/dL for adults. Antimony was detected at 1.7 mcg/L, and selenium at 160 mcg/L, with the selenium falling within the normal dietary range.4Judicial Watch. Thomas Crooks Autopsy Report Elevated lead and antimony readings are common in people who regularly fire guns, since ammunition primers and bullets contain both metals. Crooks was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a local shooting range.5NPR. Who Was Trump Rally Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks
Investigative journalist Ken Silva later reported that the toxicology record was incomplete. Dr. Goldschmidt collected eight specimens in total: four tubes of heart blood, urine, eye fluid, bile, and a hair envelope. Three of those (bile, one tube of blood, and the hair) were either not tested or not reflected in the final findings. Silva noted that hair analysis in particular could have revealed long-term drug use, including psychotropic medications. No official explanation for the omission has been publicly reported.6Raw Story. Thomas Matthew Crooks Toxicology Report Omission
Who Fired the Fatal Shot
Because the manner of death was ruled a homicide, the identity of the shooter is part of the autopsy story. Two law enforcement officers fired at Crooks after he opened fire from the roof of the American Glass Research building.
Sergeant Aaron Zaliponi, a 14-year veteran of the Adams Township Police Department and leader of the Butler County SWAT team, fired the first return round from roughly 115 yards away. He shouldered his rifle and squeezed off a single shot in under six seconds after Crooks’ first round.7CBS News Pittsburgh. Butler County Sniper Honored After Trump Rally8Washington Post. Trump Rally Local Officer Shot at Gunman Before Secret Service The counter-sniper who fired the fatal round has not been publicly identified by name.9Lawfare. How the Secret Service Failed to Prevent a Trump Assassination Attempt
Did a Second Shot Hit Crooks?
The autopsy addressed a question that drew sustained investigative attention: whether Zaliponi’s round also struck Crooks or his rifle. The FBI stated it found “no forensic evidence” that the local officer’s shot hit the gunman or his weapon.10Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Trump Butler Rally Adams Township Zaliponi Dr. Goldschmidt testified that there was “no evidence on the body” to suggest a second shot had struck Crooks or passed through him.2Washington Times. Who Shot Thomas Matthew Crooks Asked whether injuries to the shoulders could have come from a combined impact of both shooters’ rounds, he answered, “No, it’s not possible.”
Several officials who testified before the congressional task force nonetheless believed Zaliponi’s shot had disrupted the gunman long enough for the Secret Service to take the kill shot. U.S. Representative Mike Kelly said photographs of the body showed an abrasion on the right side of Crooks’ face consistent with the angle of Zaliponi’s round.10Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Trump Butler Rally Adams Township Zaliponi The FBI laboratory division separately determined that Crooks’ rifle remained “fully operational” after the incident, undercutting the theory advanced by Representative Clay Higgins that Zaliponi’s shot had disabled the weapon’s buffer tube.2Washington Times. Who Shot Thomas Matthew Crooks
Release of the Body and Cremation
The FBI released Crooks’ body to his family for cremation on July 23, 2024, ten days after the shooting. According to Representative Clay Higgins, who authored a preliminary investigative report in August 2024, the Butler County Coroner, the local sheriff, and other law enforcement officials were not informed that the body had been released until August 5.11Newsweek. Thomas Matthew Crooks Body Released for Cremation
Higgins sharply criticized the decision. He called the FBI’s release of the body “an obstruction to any following investigative effort” and said it was “unheard of” for a body in a case of this significance to be cremated so quickly. Because the remains no longer exist, Higgins said, he would “never know” with certainty whether the official autopsy reports and photographs were accurate, since independent re-examination is no longer possible.12New York Post. Congressman Blasts FBI for Releasing Thomas Matthew Crooks Body for Cremation While the Butler County Coroner held legal authority over the body, Higgins noted the coroner would not have released it without “specific permission from the FBI.”13Newsweek. Thomas Matthew Crooks Body Released for Cremation The FBI did not publicly respond to the specific criticism.
The autopsy report, the toxicology panel, and Dr. Goldschmidt’s sworn testimony to the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump stand as the only medical record of the body. The task force’s final report, released December 5, 2024, concluded that the attempt was “preventable,” but its focus was security failure, not the post-mortem findings, which it treated as settled.14House Task Force. Final Report of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump